Director Mark Waters told SCI FI Wire that even though his upcoming film The Spiderwick Chronicles covers all five books in the series, the overall storyline remains intact:

By design, the first five books told one full arc of the story. And because the books are, like, 110 pages long, with very, very big type, all five of those books together are shorter than any Harry Potter book. So it’s not like we were biting off too much. We actually bit off exactly the right amount. And now I think what we’ll generally do is do every one of their book series as one movie.

Released February 15, the film stars Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn, Seth Rogen and Martin Short.

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Posted in Movies •

The official website for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has gone online at doctorparnassus.com.

While the site currently features no more than the film’s logo and a “coming soon” message, it can be taken as a declaration of intent on Gilliam’s and the studio’s behalf to go on with the project - which seemed close to shutting down after the unfortunate death of its principal actor Heath Ledger in January.

The movie is a twisted fantasy tale about a father who offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to whomever can save her soul from the devil.

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The first trailer for 20th Century Fox’s environmental thriller The Happening has made its way onto the web courtesy of EmpireOnline.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as a man who takes his family on the run when a natural disaster threatens to end the world. Zooey Deschanel co-stars as his wife, and John Leguizamo as his best friend.

The film is directed by M Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Lady in the Water) and is scheduled for worldwide release on Friday, June 13, 2008.

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Posted in Movies •

The Academy Awards ceremony is just over two weeks away and you still haven’t seen most of the five Best Picture nominees? Chances are you’re not alone. Many studios give their big Oscar hopefuls only a limited NY/LA release in late December (so that they’re just eligible), and often the film doesn’t go wide until after it’s won its share of golden statues.

But this year AMC in the United States is hosting a special deal: On February 23 (the day before Awards) you’ll be able to see Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, Atonement, Juno and No Country for Old Men back-to-back in your local participating AMC for $30. The fee also includes a large popcorn with unlimited refills. 

If this has sparked your interest you can follow this link to find out if your local AMC is participating in this deal.

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Posted in Awards, Movies •

The end of the strike is in sight. The Writers Guild (WGA) presidents have confirmed to their members in an e-mail that they are close to reaching an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP):

As Negotiating Committee Chair John Bowman wrote you last night, we are continuing to negotiate the terms of a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. We anticipate that we will be able to present the terms of that agreement to you in the next few days. In order to have a full discussion with you of the terms and how they were reached, and in order to get your input before making recommendations or decisions, we have scheduled membership meetings for current-active members only for this Saturday, February 9, in New York and Los Angeles. […] 

We urge you to attend. We have gotten to this point in our negotiation as the direct result of the power of this strike, which each of you has generated. Neither the Negotiating Committee, nor the East Council or the West Board, will take action on any contract until after the membership meetings are held and your voices have been heard. We are all in this together.

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Posted in Movies, Television •